Short Takes

Rabbi Isaac Trainin, a few years out of yeshiva in Brooklyn, didn't think he had a long future in the Jewish communal world when he was approached to head the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies' department of religious affairs in 1952. He was a lone religious voice in a largely secular organization.
"There were no mezuzahs on any doors," he recalls. "I was the only yarmulke in the building," then located on West 47th Street, in the Diamond District.

Amiri Baraka, New Jersey’s controversial poet laureate who some New Jersey lawmakers are seeking to strip of his title, now faces a libel suit by five Israelis mentioned in his poem, “Who Blew Up America.”

One is an Orthodox rabbi known for controversial self-help books who has challenged anti-Semitism in the black community.
The other is a former writer for the Village Voice who parted ways with the paper over his favorable coverage of the Rev. Al Sharpton.
Can these two men share a radio show without driving each other crazy?
Time will tell, as Rabbi Shmuley Boteach teams up with Peter Noel starting Monday on WWRL-AM (1600), a station geared toward black audiences.

Zviya Lushe, Chana Ben-Shoan, Yitzchak Caravani and Dorit Baxter didn’t know the five disabled Israeli athletes who came here last week to compete in the New York Marathon, but the former Israelis who now live in the New York area opened their homes and businesses to the visitors.
“Most of all, their hearts,” said Yoel Sharon, executive director of Etgarim (Hebrew for challenges), an 8-year-old organization that brings outdoor and adventure sports to Israel’s disabled population. Etgarim sponsored the Israeli delegation in the marathon.

American public support for Israel in the ranks of the country’s most educated, most informed citizens has risen for the first time since the current round of Palestinian-Israeli violence began two years ago, according to a national poll conducted by two pro-Israel organizations. The survey by ISRAEL21c and The Israel Project found that 50 percent of “opinion leaders” identify themselves as supporters of Israel, compared to 42 percent in July.